What High School Courses Should I Take?

by Michelle Schira Hagerman
Topics:
Choosing College, Study Skills and Academics

According to "The Toolbox Revisted: Paths to Degree Completion from High School Through College", a longitudinal study published in 2006 by the United States Department of Education, when it comes to predicting college graduation, the "academic intensity of a student's high school curriculum still counts more than anything else." Plainly stated - students who ake the toughest high school courses are the most likely to earn a degree. It's no coincidence. These courses prepare students best for the rigors of college-level work.

The Dept. of Ed study analyzed the course records of high school graduates in 1992, then followed them through the year 2000. The study found that the most successful students took the following core courses in high school:

* 3.75 or more units of English
* 3.75 or more units of mathematics
* the highest level of mathematics offered by their schools - calculus, pre-calculus or trigonometry
* 2.5 or more units of science or more than 2.0 units of core laboratory science (biology, chemistry or physics)
* more than 2.0 units of foreign languages
* more than 2.0 units of history and social studies
* 1.0 unit of computer science
* more than one Advanced Placement course
* no remedial English and no remedial math

(p. xviii)

The study goes on to note that these are minimum requirements. Many of the most successful students took an even more intensive high school program. However, 95% of the students who stepped up to this minimum level of challenge in high school, earned bachelor's degrees (p. xviii) and by December 2000, 41% of the group had also earned Master's, first professional or Doctoral degrees. Not bad, huh?

So what's the upshot for you?

Take the most challenging courses you can. English, math, foreign languages, science, history. You'll never regret it. Even if you don't choose the bachelor's degree route - you'll still have a leg up on the competition in trade schools, apprenticeship programs and the workplace. Employers in every line of work know that the most difficult courses prepare employees for workplace challenges too.

Michelle Schira Hagerman, a veteran teacher, is the Director of Training at EduGuide.